“I haven’t forgotten that we made a little history here tonight. But I also know I wasn’t the first to try,” Moore told supporters. I am humbled to be a part…that is not why I am in this race.The history that matters most to us is what we and the people of this state will build together over the next four years. It’s a history we’re trying to make.”
The son of immigrants from Jamaica who raised himself, Moore became the third black elected governor in American history, after Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia.
A political newcomer, Moore rocked Maryland voters with his charisma and optimism and is considered a rising star among the Democratic Party’s new generation of leaders.
At Moore’s victory party in Baltimore, cheers erupted as the race started and speakers played Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration.” In an Annapolis hotel ballroom, Cox’s daughter Patience Her Face Her Cox took the stage and stared on TV as the Associated Press called the race “Don’t Believe Anything Out There” I told the supporters who were watching.
With the Democrats holding a 2-1 lead in voter registration and voters leaning moderately, a Democrat win seemed inevitable after Cox won the Republican nomination. Polls show Moore had a nearly 30% advantage over him six weeks before Election Day.
Unable to build a bipartisan coalition that lifted the popular and limited-term incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan, Cox tacked to the right. Hogan has denied Cox as unqualified.
Cox has used conservative dissatisfaction with the coronavirus order to emphasize parental rights in schools and maintain a relationship with former President Donald Trump, who is highly unpopular in Maryland.
Moore paid close attention to the message of inclusion and progress during the campaign, stating: And it’s not just a mantra, it’s a statement of values. And it’s not just about values. Come January, it will be the state’s new mission. “
Moore’s running mate and former state representative Alna Miller said: She was the state’s first immigrant and the first woman of color to serve as lieutenant governor. The barrier-breaking slate also includes U.S. Representative Anthony G. Brown (D-Maryland) as the first Black Attorney General and Rep. Brooke E. Leahman (D-Baltimore) as the first female Attorney General. was Accountant.
“For Moore, it’s an intangible thing. He felt credible,” said former middle school teacher Alfonso Sacieta, 30, when he voted at the Hyattville on Tuesday. He said he is excited to see what lies ahead for Moore. I think I will.”
Sarah Holly, 75, a few blocks from Thurgood Marshall’s childhood home in West Baltimore, emerged from the voting booth on Tuesday to give Moore a blue pin with “WES” engraved on her hat. voted.
“This is a true sign of progress in what we can do as people,” said Holly, a former publicist for black people.
At another polling place in Baltimore, a black woman held Moore’s hand and prayed with him before jumping on a blue-and-yellow election bus.
During the campaign, Moore provided a version of his response last month at an event with Hillary Clinton, publicly redirecting the first story. But it’s not a mission. “
Moore built a statewide coalition around issues such as reducing crime, promoting economic opportunity, and ending child poverty. To these goals, he created an ambitious policy with no price tag. When asked for details, he would point to the state’s multi-billion dollar surplus as a “once in a generation” opportunity to change state government.
Moore also opened up a topic often dominated by Republicans, advocating lower inheritance taxes and embracing patriotism.
“You cannot love your country if you hate half of it. True patriotism is about bringing people together,” Moore said in his victory speech.
“Wes is a bold representation of the future of Maryland. He is business savvy. “He’s a veteran who’s taken real risks for our country, and he’s darker than anyone we’ve ever seen.”
Former investment banker, Johns Hopkins University football player and alumnus, University of Rhodes academic, Afghan Army Paratrooper and officer, and the White House once headed the Robin Hood Foundation, the country’s largest poverty-fighting nonprofit. Moore, a Fellow of , attracted a star-studded list. supporter. He had a fundraiser headlined by Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee, a campaign ad shot with former President Barack Obama, and multiple rallies with President Biden.
His nearly two-year campaign centered around his personal story in the face of adversity, detailed in his best-selling book, The Other Wes Moore. This story begins when his father died before his eyes from a misdiagnosed disease at the age of three. His difficult teenage years were tempered at the military school where his mother sent him to escape the Bronx. He currently lives in Baltimore with his wife Dawn. Maryland politicians and their two children, 11-year-old Mia and 9-year-old James.
Addressing them in his victory speech, he said, “I want every other child in the state to know what I want them to know. Never be in a room where you don’t belong.”
It took decades for Moore’s political ambitions to come to fruition.
“Every time I go back to New York,” Moore told the Palm Beach Post in 1998. Politics is where you have the power to do something about it. “
He was a freshman state delegate to Frederick who overtook Hogan’s hand-picked moderate Republican successor, and to compete with Cox, the father of ten, a crowded reserve that included well-known political magnates. beat the election.
Cox, who said he believed the 2020 election was “stolen”, was bolstered by endorsements from Trump and derided by Hogan as a “dumb job” that didn’t deserve endorsement. and tried to impeach Hogan over pandemic restrictions.)
Alvin Thornton, former chair of political science at Howard University, said: “Wes is very talented, but Cox is a real blessing to Wes.
Despite a Trump fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago last month, Cox’s campaign has never raised more than a tenth of Moore’s nearly $16 million resource. In a state where Republican leaders win by appealing to independents and moderates, Mr. Cox stuck to conservative values. He centered his message on mandatory vaccines, school curricula discussing gender identity, and “freedom” from the income tax that forms the backbone of state revenues.
Carl Snowden, a longtime civil rights activist in Anne Arundel County, said Moore “had the good fortune to have Dan Cox as his opponent.” “Especially because there were so many people, including African Americans, Who was happy with Hogan.
Outside Wheaton High School, Charles Williams, a 42-year-old plumber, was among black voters who thought Hogan was “pretty cool.”
But when it came time to vote for a Republican successor, Williams said Cox wasn’t very attractive, so he backed Moore, saying it was “for the people.”
“For me, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, it’s who gets the job done,” Williams said.
Cox has refused to reiterate whether he will accept the election results, citing concerns about a court-approved change to the start of mail-in ballots.
Addressing supporters at 11 p.m. Tuesday, Cox declined to acknowledge, “We’re out of sight, but I can tell you this: Only 50% of the votes were counted.” do not have.”
Maryland’s record for lopsided gubernatorial wins was set in 1986 when then-Baltimore mayor William Donald Shaffer was elected governor with 82% of the vote.
Moore’s political ties in Maryland began with an internship with former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke, Baltimore’s first black mayor. Schmoke recommended Moore as a Rhodes scholar, and when Moore graduated from Oxford, Schmoke offered him a job in the private sector to increase his credibility when running for public office.
“It was clear to me…if he understood the private sector, he would have more support from the business community,” Mr. Schmoke said in a recent interview.
When Moore’s first political campaign finally took off, Schmoke asked him to consider supporting Larry Gibson, a law professor and organizer of Maryland politics. Gibson helped launch the political careers of Schmoke and Wayne K. Curry, and became the first black man elected mayor of Prince George County. Earlier this year, Gibson became a senior counselor, becoming a regular in primaries, attending events and posting campaign signs in remote parts of the state.
This spring, Gibson said he spent his 80th birthday climbing the stairs knocking on the door for Moore.
Moore also turned to America’s giant of black political leaders for advice. Former Massachusetts Governor Patrick encouraged all voters, not just Democrats, to articulate their vision.
“I know Wes is a great talent. Patrick knows his generational responsibility when it comes to advice to Moore.
Moore said most of their talks had little to do with his potential to make history, and little to do with how he was elected and governed effectively.
“He’s not saying not to appreciate the fact that we’re doing something we’ve never done before,” Moore said in an interview in mid-October. It’s gone. What sticks in my mind is what kind of governor he was.”
Moore’s victory follows Maryland’s complicated racial past.
Maryland never left the United States, but was a slave state with Confederate supporters. dred scott A ruling that declared blacks inherently unfit for citizenship. One of these statutes stayed in the State Capitol until five years ago.
On Tuesday, 80-year-old Richard W. Thomas Jr. proudly displayed a “I voted” sticker in a bright orange sweatshirt as he limped out of the Civic Center in Silver Spring.
Thomas, who is black, recalled a time when he “couldn’t vote” and said he was prepared to wait as long as needed to vote for Moore.
One race he followed this year was the Governor’s Contest.
“Wes Moore is my man,” he said.
While campaigning this fall in Prince George County, a wealthy black DC suburb, Moore spoke directly about the state’s heritage.
“This is the condition of Harriet Tubman, this is the condition of Frederick Douglass, this is the condition of Thurgood Marshall,” he said.
“This is the State Capitol, the building where we take our oaths, a state built by slave hands. The Annapolis Dock, a dock within walking distance of the State Capitol, has gone down in history in this country. “One of the largest slave docks. I understand the history of this country,” he said. “We will accomplish what those who came before us never thought possible. They wanted. They dreamed. They fought. But We have a unique opportunity to do something.”
This story has been updated with comments from Wes Moore.
Lauren Lumpkin, Latecia Beacham, Ian Duncan, Shwetha Surendran, Joe Heim and Steve Thompson contributed to this report.
